Community Outreach

State and local REALTOR® associations can choose from five different Community Outreach grants, technical assistance and numerous resources to match their affordable housing, fair housing, community planning and development, placemaking and rural-related advocacy and community engagement objectives.

Walkable Community ResourcesA

Walkable communities are one of the latest trends in real estate, and REALTORS® need to be aware of how the demand for walkable communities impacts real estate and their business. Access a fact sheet, how-to guide, advocacy overview, and webinar to learn how to make your community more walkable. Leverage a Smart Growth Grant to plan and implement your initiative.
MORE INFORMATION
Hugh Morris, LEED AP
Manager, Community Development and Growth
Community Outreach
202-383-1278
Email
Boise Regional REALTORS® Bring Resources, Expertise, and Motivation to Renovation of Urban Corridor
October 2017
Using a pilot Walkable Communities Grant from the REALTOR® Party, the REALTORS® of Boise, ID, jump-started a much-needed visioning process for an improved Orchard Street Corridor: a major downtown thoroughfare that was neither attractive, convenient, nor safe for pedestrians.
Coeur d’Alene REALTORS® Bring a “Storybook Trail” to Growing Community
November 2019
The Coeur d’Alene REALTOR® association wanted to use one of the REALTOR® Party’s Smart Growth Action Grants to help a local community where its members live and work. Working together with the City of Rathdrum, Idaho, they planned and built a ‘Storybook Trail’ at the base of Rathdrum Mountain.
Five Years Later, Walkability Study Commissioned by Coastal Carolinas Association of REALTORS® is Still Paying Dividends
September 2022
In 2016, the REALTOR® Party established a Smart Growth mindset in the City of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, by funding an in-depth walkability study that continues to inform local decision-makers on infrastructure improvements.  Improvements large and small undertaken by the local REALTORS® and the city have strengthened the partnership and leveraged additional outside support.  
Greensboro Regional REALTORS® Contributes Key Element to City’s 2040 Comprehensive Plan: Smart Growth Polling
September 2020
Through the State and Local Growth Polling program, the Greensboro Regional REALTORS® Association provided important statistical insights into transportation and quality of life issues to the City’s Planning Department as it prepared its 20-year comprehensive plan. 
Is Smart Growth the Key to Preserving Montana’s ‘Big Sky?' Gallatin REALTORS® Funds Study to Find Answers.
September 2018
A REALTOR® Party Smart Growth Action Grant enabled the Gallatin Association of REALTORS® to support an in-depth analysis of property tax value-per-acre in Bozeman, Montana. The resulting 3-D economic model clearly demonstrated the fiscal efficiency of concentrating growth in urban centers, rather than allowing sprawl, and will inform the development of the city’s Growth Plan.
Maine Association Facilitates Smart Growth for Once-thriving Mill Town
July 2018
To help the once-prosperous mill town of Sanford envision a future with walkable affordable housing and fresh economic contributors, the Maine Association of REALTORS® used a Smart Growth Action Grant to support a three-day charrette, in which all stakeholders had an opportunity to contribute ideas to a new downtown development.
Selkirk REALTORS® Protect Quality of Life in Bonners Ferry
March 2019
With a series of Smart Growth Action Grants, Selkirk REALTORS® supported a multi-year planning process for an integrated network of pedestrian and bicycle routes in Bonners Ferry, Idaho. Complete with graphic branding and signage, the plan will enhance the local active transport scene for residents, and contribute to the region’s growing appeal to bike tourism.
Ulster County (NY) REALTORS® Help Transform Old Network of Railways into New Hiking/Biking Trails
January 2015
In its day, the City of Kingston, NY – the only urban community in Ulster County -- was a major railway hub connecting multiple corridors.  Today, with the help of an NAR Smart Growth Action Grant, the nearly 600-member Ulster County Board of REALTORS® is transforming Kingston into a hub of rail-trails that connects the city's neighborhoods and business districts with each other and with the rural areas beyond.
With Better Block Event, Longleaf Pine REALTORS® Demonstrate Just How Pedestrian-Friendly Haymount Can Be
June 2018
Within Fayetteville, North Carolina, the Haymount district is blessed with neat neighborhoods of cottage-style homes and proximity to downtown, but its commercial district is cursed by an environment that is distinctly unfriendly to pedestrians. Armed with a vision, a Smart Growth Action Grant, and a whole lot of duct tape, the local Longleaf Pine REALTORS® set out to change that.